Stories from the Greek Mythology have always fascinated me. For thousands of years some of the greatest artists were inspired by them. Sculptures, paintings, poems, novels...
In this article I will refer to the story about Daphne and Apollo:
Naughty Cupid hit Apollo, the Greek God, with an arrow. Apollo fell in love with Daphne the nymph, daughter of the river god Peneus. He was desperately in love but, as often happens where it comes to love, Daphne rejected his advances and tried to flee from him. This ardent lover, Apollo, could not take NO for an answer. He continued to pursue her. Well ,now, as you probably know, lovers can get rather tiresome sometimes, no matter how handsome or brave they may be. Daphne appealed to the goddes Terra (Gaia) for protection. To save her, Terra turned her into a laurel tree. The diappointed Apollo took the laurel branch had a garland made of it then placed it on his beautiful head, thus the Laurel garland has become his symbol. Following this - in ancient Greece, the Olympic victors were crowned with laurel wreaths as a sign of their victory.
As for me (sigh) - if Apollo, the brave and handsome, would have fallen in love with me - WOW - being a tree would be the last thing on earth I'd want to be !...On the other hand - if he was too much of a macho man - I'd ask Terra to turn me into a brook or a beautiful gem....anything else but a tree!!!
Painting of Apollo and Daphne by Antonio del Pallaiolo, c. 1470-80
(National Gallery, London)
Following this sad romantic story I created a necklace with Sterling silver Laurel leaves ( By the way "Daphne" in Hebrew means "Laurel"):
You will find this necklace in my Etsy shop of unique handmade jewelry designs:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/riorita?ref=seller_infoOf course while searching other items with the tag Daphne, I found a few more beautiful Daphne items which I could not resist adding here.
I simply adore this painting of Daphne, a Holstein cow. Most of the paintings in this shop remind me of how much I love these animals. Great paintings!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/ArtPaperGarden?ref=pr_shop_more
This item is one of a gorgeous Victorian style collection of unique Empress Wedding clothes. The designs and color combinations are amazing works of art!
http://www.etsy.com/listing/70722339/daphne-silk-ruffle-victorian-shrug
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Countessa?ref=seller_info
And just to remind you - we often use these in our cooking! I just LOVE the aroma of meat and rice cooked with an added leaf of Laurel:
Bon Appetite to all of you !
Thank you for watching!
More handcrafted artisan jewelry in silver and gold in my Etsy shop:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/riorita?ref=seller_info
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